


By the Fireplace

by Pengoop



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Boys Kissing, Canon Compliant, Christmas Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 15:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2855471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pengoop/pseuds/Pengoop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of ereri winter and holiday themed stories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the Fireplace

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: I decided I'm not gonna be able to write enough in a day and I lose motivation when to catch up, so I'm just updating whenever throughout the rest of the winter season
> 
> THERE'S STILL TEN MINUTES OF CHRISTMAS I SWEAR I'M ON TIME.
> 
> honestly this first chapter is a big mess but i really needed some stuff like this. when i can find the inspiration  
> for thischapter i'll link to those fics, because some of these scenes were very obviously borrowed ideas that i mashed together
> 
> i hope it's okay-ish???
> 
> Kudos, bookmarks, subscriptions, and comments are always greatly appreciated.  
> Find me at pengoop.tumblr.com  
> Unedited and unbeta read. Let me know if you'd like to read for me.

Day One

Eren, believe it or not, was not a huge partier. Sure, he loved to socialize and kick back with his friends, but parties drained him out. After a few drinks and singing (screaming?) seven traditional carols, he was spent. He decided it was time for a short break, taking a seat on a cushioned bench by the refreshment table. He got himself another cup of punch, hoping that it wasn’t alcoholic. Just a few more drinks and he’d be pushing his limit, never all that good with alcohol in the first place. Eren was a cuddly and affectionate drunk. The table was nearly empty, which was expected.The entire Scouting Legion was invited to join in the festivities, and very few people would turn down the opportunity to have even a miniscule portion of the special dishes that were prepared for the winter holidays. Whatever was available in the beginning of celebration would disappear quickly with all the soldiers scurrying to get their share.

Eren observed his surroundings. To his right, Jean and Connie seemed to be having some sort of drinking contest. Annie and Reiner were having a very intense arm wrestle, with Sasha and Ymir betting on who’d win. Eren would bet on Reiner, with his enormous muscles - he was surprised he hadn’t won already. To his left, Commander Erwin was having a good laugh with Squad Leaders Hanji and Mike. He wondered what they were talking about, as he was always used to seeing them in very a professional light, aside from Hanji’s constant babbling. Sometimes he forgot that they had a life outside of developing better formations, performing experiments or sniffing new recruits.

Something seemed odd. Eren knew something looked wrong, but he couldn’t tell what. Though he wasn’t used to seeing his superiors acting so carefree and casual, it wasn’t off putting. It took him at least a solid five minutes of thinking before he figured it out - Levi wasn’t with them. His eyes scanned the large room to see if he was with anybody else. Did he have other friends? He was so used to seeing him with his squad or the other officers, and he couldn’t see him with either group. There was always the possibility that he decided to stay back in his office, for whatever deranged reason. Even though Eren knew Levi hated attending large social events, he always did. This was new. Perhaps he was sick? Or Erwin put all his work onto him so he could have the night off? Neither were impossible, but both were unlikely. Levi looked perfectly healthy the night before, except he did seem slightly more stressed than usual. Erwin couldn’t have been that horrible, and Levi wouldn’t agree to do it anyways.

A single plate remained on the refreshment table. Eren picked it up and grabbed whatever food remained; a few butter cookies, a slice of roast beef, a piece of bread and mashed potatoes. He filled a glass with punch and his made way the the closest exit. He wasn’t completely satisfied with what he was bringing, but it was the best that he could do. He could only hope that he could one day magically produce food out of thin air. That’d be a lot better than his titan-shifting abilities; and a hell lot less trouble. He sighed. Just as he was about to leave, Hanji scrambled over in front of the doorframe. She was obviously at least a little tipsy, which couldn’t be good thing, considering she was energetic and insane enough when sober. She stopped Eren in his tracks, partially because she was blocking his way, partially because he was frozen in fear.

“Whoa whoa whoa Eren! Where are you running off to now?” She questioned, words slurring together ever so slightly.

“I ju-” She cut him off before he could reply.

“You aren’t leaving already, are you? The party just started! Don’t you have friends that you should be with? Where are they all?” Hanji spun around with more energy than she needed, scanning the room for the rest of the 104th Squad that Eren trained with. As soon as she located them, she reached up on her tippy toes, waving frantically at them. A few waved back, though they did seem confused. None of them seemed to notice Eren was with her.

“Ohhh, maybe you’re just going to the bathroom? I shouldn’t keep you! Go go go! Don’t get it all over the floor, that’s disgusting! Just because Levi says he’s training you like a dog doesn’t mean you have to be potty trained like one!”

Eren nearly choked. “What? No! I-”

“Wait wait! Who am I kidding, that’s on the other side. OH, OH! I know what you’re doing! Levi! Awww dearie, you’re looking for him aren’t you!” She grinned, leaning in too close to his face.

“Well I -”

“Shhh, it’s okay! Heehee, you are SO adorable dear! Oh wait, before you go!” She ran off to another room at an alarming speed, stumbling over the legs of other soldiers and running into multiple tables in the process. Eren watched her for a few short moments before attempting to continue his journey to the Captain’s office.

And that’s when Hanji came stumbling back with a slice of cake sitting on a small plate. Eren was surprised it didn’t fall down with the way that she was pushing through the crowds of people. “Cake! For Levi! We rarely got to have any of this and I’m sure he wouldn’t want to miss out! He always feels a little left out today, even though he should be the center of attention” She winked. “Try to control yourself up there. We can’t let you two get too worn out before training even starts.”

Eren was glad that the room was dim, because he was sure that his blush would be impossibly visible otherwise. He took the plate and tried to balance everything. Thank god most of the doors were left unlocked today. The hardest part of his journey was getting up the stairs. He nearly dropped the food at least a hundred times and tripped at least a thousand. All this trouble just for his Captain. Wait - no no no no no, he was NOT _his_ captain, just _the_ captain. That was all he was. But he wasn’t just _a_ Captain either. He was also the person that saved Eren from being taken in by the Military Police, even if he had to kick him a lot in the process. He was also the man who trained him to control his titan powers. He was the man who protected Eren, woke him up every morning, and saw him to bed every night. He was the most beautiful, admirable person Eren had ever been lucky enough to meet. He was humanity’s strongest. Eren knew Levi was responsible for him and had to do everything he did, but he still couldn’t help but...almost love him for it.

Eren knew it was stupid, he really did. It was just some lame celebrity crush he had. He looked up to Levi as his hero since he was a kid, and it was hard to shake off. He never imagined he would ever work so closely with him, even if he joined the Survey Corps. It was still a little dream-like for him. Everything since that day - the first time the walls were breached, everything was so unreal. Eren laughed at the possibility that he really was just dreaming everything up. He didn’t even realized he had been standing in front of Levi’s door for the past 10 minutes. He really hoped Levi couldn’t hear him. He took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.

_Once._

_Twice._

_A third, last time._

Eren could hear Levi groan and shuffle his way to the door. Even though he took the time to calm himself down, he still was a little jumpy when the door was swung open.

“Don’t just stand there, what do you want?”

“I-I brought you some food from the party downstairs, sir!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of, shouldn’t you be down there?”

“Well, shouldn’t you?”

Levi let out a sigh of defeat and walked back to his desk wordlessly. Eren was left to stare at him, not sure if that was a signal to leave.

“Are you coming in or what?”

“W-what?”

“Jeeze brat, you shouldn’t get that nutjob Hanji to check your ears at sometime.”

“My ears are perfectly fine sir!”

“Just get your ass in here before I feel like kicking you out again.”

Eren automatically saluted. “Yes sir!” Levi could only chuckle in response. Eren decided that his laugh sounded lovely.

“So why’re you up here today? Don’t you have friends to be with?” Levi asked, taking the plates from Eren and arranging them nicely on his desk. It was as clean as ever,without a speck of dust to be seen on any surface. His pens were impossibly shiny and everything was perfectly organized.

“That’s what I wanted to ask you, sir. I know that you aren’t a fan of social gatherings like these, but you never completely skipped one.”

Levi frowned. “It’s nothing.”

“Sir, you know tha-”

“Jaeger, I said _it’s nothing_.”

Eren took a step back. “I’m sorry I asked sir.”

“Now answer my question - Why aren’t you with your friends downstairs? Don’t you have anything better to do than barge in while I’m working?”

“Well, if I’m really bothering you that much, I’ll leave.”

Levi shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary.”

Eren paused for a second and looked to Levi for confirmation.

He gave him a nod. “Do you seriously need to me to repeat myself that many times?”

“No sir.”

Levi sighed and poked at his food with a fork. He didn’t like to play with his meals, but he wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. His mind was focused on the upcoming expedition more than anything else. Eren was staring at the cake. It was rare for the Corps to get any, and only officers were offered any. Still, the slices were fairly thin and the one Levi had looked to be a little dry. Nonetheless, he really wanted to try it one day. If the military would ever accept him enough for him to become any officer. If he even survived long enough.

“You want it?” Levi pushed the plate in Eren’s direction.

“Oh no sir, it’s yours! I’m grateful you asked bu-”

“Take it.” He shoved it with a little more force this time. “I don’t really like it.”

“Are you really sure? I d-”

“Eat. The god damned. Cake.”

Eren nodded obediently, but still hesitated a bit when picking up the fork. He carefully picked up a piece of the chocolate cake and put it in his mouth. It was sweet, but not sweet enough to be overwhelming. He could confirm that it was a bit dry, but delicious nonetheless.

“Why do you look like you’re going to shit your pants? You have nothing to be nervous about, unless you think you’re going to transform into a titan again.”

Eren turned his head away in embarrassment.

“God, you’re quiet today. The only time I try to make conversation is also the only time that you choose to keep your shitty mouth closed.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say sir.”

“Say whatever you want.”

“So I can ask why you’re up here alone again?”

“No. And you’re here, so I’m not alone anyway.”

Eren groaned.

“You enjoying yourself?”

“Huh?”

“The cake, Jaeger?”

“It’s delicious, sir.”

Levi hummed in response. The next few moments, they sat in silence. In wasn’t exactly comfortable, but not completely awkward either. Simply silent. Levi finished the last of his paper work and Eren finished eating the cake. Levi still had some of the food the other had brought in, only picking at it from time to time. He filed away his papers and massaged his temples.

In that time, Eren tried to think of why Levi wouldn’t want to join the rest of the Corps downstairs. Maybe he did show up in the beginning but couldn’t stand all the sweaty bodies and excessive noise. No - the Captain would’ve said that if he did. Maybe he forgot that it was happening and didn’t even notice what was going on - Also unlikely. The walls weren’t thick enough to completely soundproof the room, and Hanji would’ve dragged him out kicking and screaming. Maybe he just didn’t like Christmas? That seemed like a possibility. Now he just needed to find out why. He looked up at him, as if that would give him some hints. He obviously had a headache, or was very tired, at the least. He’d offer to give him a massage, but it seemed much too intimate to even bring up.

As if on cue, Levi spoke up. “Christmas was never enjoyable for me.” He began, still not looking at Eren. “This is going to make me sound like some whiney brat like you, and I really hope you don’t lose any respect for me when I say this.”

“I won’t, sir.”

“I hate the fact that I was born on Christmas. I can’t really celebrate either event because of the other. I spent a lot of my years hating myself when I was younger, I did a lot of things that I regret and went through a lot of shit. Fuck, I know I sound like a little bitch about it all, but it really wasn’t a time I like to remember. A lot of times, I wished I was never born. I probably wasn’t supposed to be anyway. While all the other kids - who were, mind you, in just as bad a situation as I was, or even worse - were still having some sort of holiday celebration. I just spent my time alone trying to find ways to kill myself without running into other problems. Yet at the same time, I desperately wanted somebody to pay attention to me. I wanted them to forget about Christmas and tell me ‘Happy Birthday’. It’s selfish, I know, you don’t have to tell me. I don’t even know why I’m telling you all of this...I’m sorry, you should just ignore me.”

That’s when Eren realized what Hanji meant. She mentioned that this was supposed to be Levi’s day. “No, oh my god...Captain, I never knew this about you, I-I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“I-I just can’t believe that you’ve been through all that. There were always rumours that you were a thug before you joined the Corps, but nobody actually knew any details about it. If they did, then I guess they didn’t say anything about it. I can’t imagine you doing anything like that though - What was it like? You didn’t...kill anybody, did you?”

“Hanji and Erwin know. Anybody else that did died.”

Eren’s eyes widened in shock.

“No, I didn’t fucking murder them for knowing about my past. They died out on the field.”

“I-I knew that! I’m sorry to hear that...”

“Sure you did.”

The silence returned for a few minutes.

“I can’t imagine how you could ever hate yourself Captain. You’ve always been somebody that everybody has always looked up to. You, you just are _always_ so incredible. The way that you move with the 3DMG is amazing, nobody could ever look as flawless, and effortless, and even _beautiful_ as you do when you’re soaring across the sky. And then even on land, you run so fucking fast for hours without even breaking a sweat at all. You’ve probably already killed way more titans than I ever will in my lifetime and you just do it with all the grace that I can’t even imagine coming close to. You’re a perfect soldier, they really don’t call you Humanity’s Strongest for nothing. But nobody even knows you the way that I do, and I know I’m not really that close with you, but I just feel so lucky that I could work with you like this. That time in the courtroom, that really hurt, shit, but I knew you did it because you had to. You saved me back there.The Military Police probably would’ve dissected me in an even worse fashion than Squad Leader Hanji eventually will. You’ve taught me so much ever since I started training with you, I don’t think anybody else could’ve done a better job. I would’ve gotten you a gift if I’d known that it was your birthday. I admire you so much Captain.”

Eren couldn’t stop those words from spilling out, even if he tried. He knew that the Captain would kick him out for saying such absurd things, and yet he couldn’t control himself. He knew that he came too close to a confession. He knew that his feelings were completely inappropriate for a subordinate to feel about a superior. He knew that Levi would never reciprocate his feelings. He didn’t bother to look at him and see his Captain’s eyes widen.

Suddenly, he could feel Levi’s thumb brush over his cheek. He pushed his A blush quickly spread over his cheek. “Captain?”

“You had a crumb on your face.”

“Oh,” Eren wiped at his face with his sleeve. “Is it gone yet?”

This time, when Levi leaned in, it wasn’t his hand on his cheek. Eren felt his lips touch his skin, very lightly but obviously intentional. He didn’t think he could blush any more, but he did.

“You missed that crumb.”

“I think you missed another, actually.”  
Eren leaned in again and kissed Levi, somehow summing up the courage to crash his lips against the other’s. He tried to hold himself back so Levi could easily shove him away if he wanted to, but his efforts were wasted. He was being kissed back. Eren tentatively wrapped his arms around him. Levi practically melted into his touch before pulling away.

“Merry Christmas, Eren.”

“Happy birthday, Levi.”


End file.
